Faulkner holds off Loyola Saturday

NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola Wolf Pack women's basketball team stayed close behind Faulkner for most of the game on Saturday, but the visiting Eagles were able to hold on to the 71-63 win in The Den. The Pack (11-8, 5-3 in SSAC) is back on the road next week, traveling to Brewton-Parker on Thursday and Middle Georgia State on Saturday for two more league games. 
 

Both teams started the game on fire, each making their first four shots from the field to bring the score to a 10-9 Loyola lead. Caitlin Travis and Deniya Thornton both made 3s during that stretch, while Alissa O'Dell and Kate Thompson sunk 2-point field goals. A Travis stop-and-pop and an old-fashioned 3-point play by Thornton made it a 15-13 Wolf Pack advantage, then a steal-and-score by Thornton pushed it to 17-14. Faulkner finished the opening 10 minutes well, though, taking a 22-19 lead into the second quarter. 
 

Joclyen Wyatt began the next frame with two 3-pointers on consecutive possessions, but that was met with a 15-1 run for the Eagles to pull out in front, 37-26, with two and a half minutes until halftime. O'Dell ended that scoring drought with an offensive board, however, the Eagles hit a buzzer-beater to make it a 10-point lead, 39-29, at the break. 
 

Thornton and Kate Thompson combined to get the Wolf Pack off to a good start in the second half. Thornton hit a 3 and Thompson laid one in to trim the lead a little, then a block by Thompson led to a Thornton fastbreak score, 41-36. After O'Dell kept it a five-point Faulkner lead near the five-minute mark, the Eagles extended their lead back out to nine, 50-41, with two minutes left on the clock. Alexis Babineaux got the Wolf Pack back on the board, and a couple of free throws by Thornton and Travis got the deficit back down to five, 50-45, heading to the fourth quarter. 
 

MG Lymon made it a one-possession game, hitting a jumper after another offensive rebound, but an 8-1 run for the Eagles pushed their lead back out to 10, 58-48, with less than five minutes left in the game. Loyola brought Faulkner's lead back down five again, 58-53, then the visitors used another run to hold off Wolf Pack to complete their road win. 
 

Pack Facts

• Deniya Thornton led the team with 17 points and nine rebounds, plus two steals and two blocks. 

• As a team, Loyola put up double-digit block numbers for the second consecutive game, with 12 total.

• Kate Thompson had half of those blocks for a new career high, finishing with a stat line of 10 points, five rebounds, six blocks, and three assists in 24 minutes. Her sister, Libby Thompson, also joined the block party with a career-high three rejections.

• Kate, who has recorded 11 total blocks in this week's pair of games, now has the sixth-most blocks in a season in program history with 33. 

• After scoring a season-high nine points in Thursday's game, Jocylen Wyatt kept it going with 10 points Saturday. Caitlin Travis also got into double figures late with 11.